jcgraff

Q: AirPlay consistently loses connection after 1 minute of play

I have an iMac running 10.11.6 on a wireless network to an AirPort Extreme running version 7.7.7 (newest) and two AirPort Express (both on newest firmware, 7.6.7) The Expresses are used only to stream music to stereo amplifiers, one that plays on patio, the other to a  bathroom/living room.

 

I've had this setup for a a couple years and have not had problems with streaming until maybe a month or two ago.

 

Now, when I stream music from the iMac to either Express, they stream fine for consistently about one minute, then the AirPlay symbol turns orange indicating that the connection to the Express has been lost and playback stops from that Express.  The iMac continues to play music without problem.  I have the same problem with losing the connection on both Expresses (usually played separately), so makes me think it is a problem with the iMac or its software. I suspect iTunes (12.4.3.1, up-to-date) or something it uses in the background to make AirPlay networking operate.  The iMac is within only a wall and 10-15 feet of either either Express, so it is not a signal strength issue.  All locations have been unchanged for years.

 

I've tried resetting both Expresses, the base station, and the iMac, I've even resorted to zapped PRAM.

 

Interestingly and consistent with the hypothesis that this is a problem with the iMac software, streaming to the patio or bathroom Express via iPhone or iPad works just fine, never drops.

 

I reviewed the discussion groups for 15 minutes and couldn't find anyone with this issue.

 

Anyone with troubleshooting ideas or a cure?

 

Best,

 

Justin

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)

Posted on Aug 23, 2016 7:25 PM

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Q: AirPlay consistently loses connection after 1 minute of play

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  • by Tesserax,Helpful

    Tesserax Tesserax Aug 24, 2016 9:48 PM in response to jcgraff
    Level 9 (54,035 points)
    Wireless
    Aug 24, 2016 9:48 PM in response to jcgraff

    Based on your problem description, I would suspect it to be iTunes more so than your iMac.

     

    For streaming via AirPlay, iTunes does most of the work.

    • iTunes decompresses the audio content (AAC, MP3, etc.) and creates what's essentially a raw, uncompressed audio stream.
    • That stream is then compressed using Apple's Lossless Compression (ALAC) via a QuickTime codec, encrypted with 128-bit AES1, and then, streamed (via AirPlay) to the AirPort Express (AX.)

     

    The other thing that is going on in the background for AirPlay is that there is a number of communications between the iTunes host and the AX that must happen for everything to work.

    • The AX must broadcast over the network that it is available as an AirPlay client.
    • The AirPlay server (in this case, iTunes) must:
      • Establish a secured link to the AX.
      • Periodically test that link to see if it is still active, and
      • Perform the actual streaming.

     

    So, if the issue is only with streaming, then one of the above is not happening or not happening properly. However, if the issue is with overall connectivity, not just for streaming, then it may be a networking issue instead.

  • by jcgraff,Solvedanswer

    jcgraff jcgraff Aug 28, 2016 7:37 AM in response to Tesserax
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Wireless
    Aug 28, 2016 7:37 AM in response to Tesserax

    I called Apple support and got passed from iTunes support to wireless support, even though it really sounded like a Mac or iTunes issue.  The wireless specialist agreed after hearing the whole story that it sounded like iTunes or the iMac.  In addition to the iPhones and iPads streaming fine as indicated above, my MacBookPro on the same MacOS and iTunes versions do not lose the connection to the AirPort Expresses in a minute or so after starting a stream.

     

    She was really dumbfounded, and we were about to look into uninstalling iTunes or redoing the firmware of the Expresses, as both had been updated about a month ago when the streaming problem started to both Expresses.  I'd already powered down the computer and done a PRAM reset, but I hadn't done an SMC reset.

     

    Turned out that doing the SMC reset (unplugging the computer 10 seconds) fixed it!!!  What a relief.

     

    Hope this helps someone else.

  • by jcgraff,

    jcgraff jcgraff Aug 28, 2016 11:38 AM in response to jcgraff
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Wireless
    Aug 28, 2016 11:38 AM in response to jcgraff

    It is definitely better after doing the SMC reset, however, I noticed after streaming using the iMac indirectly via the iPhone's remote app that playback quit after a minute as it was previously doing when directly streamed from the iMac's copy of iTunes.  It had streamed to Airport Express fine after the SMC reset until then.

     

    I quit the Remote app and still had a problem with iMac's iTunes quitting.

     

    After that I restarted the iMac without an SMC reset and it is streaming to the Extremes.

     

    So, perhaps this was a combination of an SMC issue, and a problem with the Extremes working with iTunes on the Mac and the Remote app.